Pig farmers are enjoying renewed enthusiasm for their product, with the primary pork market having grown 10.2% in value to £800m, or, 1.5 percentage points for total grocery, according to the latest figures.

This value growth is driven by inflation, as average primary pork prices rose by 15.7% on the year to £5.71/kg. Volumes however are 4.7% lower over the same period according to the figures from Kantar, 52 weeks ending July 9, 2023.

Whilst new shoppers are typically younger, the majority of sales come from older shoppers, so it remains key to mobilise repeat consumers.

Due to the large number of processed pork options, primary pork makes up a small portion of total pork volumes, at 14.9%. However, it remains one of the cheapest proteins, coming in at £1.50/kg cheaper than the average for total primary meat, fish and poultry (mfp).

AHDB analyst Tom Price said: “This comes as the cost-of-living crisis causes consumers to trade down to cheaper products like mince and sausages, and cheaper proteins like chicken, as well as limiting their meat consumption altogether in an attempt to save money.

"Consumers switching to primary chicken accounted for 26.2% of all primary pork volume losses year on year, as chicken is the cheapest protein on the market at £4.81/kg.

"Pork’s lower price point compared to other red meats stands it in a good position within the market. This means that over the coming months we could continue to see primary pork’s retail volume declines limited when compared to beef and lamb.

"As the cost-of-living crisis will continue into the festive period, we could see increased demand for pork at Christmas as pork roasting joints are approximately 50% cheaper than that of beef and lamb," he said.